Fire ravaged several businesses on Thursday along New Jersey’s popular boardwalk, where Hurricane Sandy struck in 2012, news reports said.
No serious injuries were initially reported, but some people were treated for smoke inhalation, according to CNN .
An ice-cream store, where the fire was believed to have originated around 2:15 pm (18:15 GMT), was engulfed in flames afternoon.
Strong winds of up to 70 kilometres per hour spread the fire to least 19 other buildings along the boardwalk in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, the Star-Ledger newspaper reported. Evacuations were being ordered for more than six blocks to the north, authorities quoted by the newspaper said.
Part of the new boardwalk was being removed to act as a fire break, Seaside Heights spokesman Michael Graichen said.